Tag: Book Review

ARC Book Review: Phantasma (Wicked Games #1) by Kaylie Smith

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 461 pages
Author: Kaylie Smith
Publisher: Second Sky
Release Date: September 3rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Caraval meets Throne of the Fallen in this spicy dark romantasy where a necromancer needs help from a dangerous phantom to win a deadly competition, only to find their partnership puts her at risk of breaking the game’s most vital rule: don’t fall in love.

When Ophelia and her sister discovers their mother brutally murdered, there is no time to grieve: Ophelia has inherited both her powerful death-driven magic and enormous debt on their home. Circumstances go from dire to deadly, however, when Ophelia’s sister decides to pay off the loan by entering Phantasma—a competition where most contestants don’t make it out alive and the winner is granted a single wish.

The only way to save her sister is to compete. But Phantasma is a cursed manor, with twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, and filled with enticing demons and fatal temptations. Ophelia will need to face nine floors of challenges to win… if her fears don’t overtake her first.

When a charming, arrogant stranger claims he can protect and guide Ophelia, she knows she shouldn’t trust him. While Blackwell may not seem dangerous, appearances can be deceptive. But with her sister’s life on the line, Ophelia can’t afford to turn him away. She just needs to ignore the overwhelming, dark attraction drawing them closer and closer together.

Because in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart.

Thank you The Nerd Fam and the publisher for an ARC.

SPICE > PLOT.

I’m not a fan when that happens.

The initial idea of this story was good. I liked the idea of OCD rep within a fantasy world. I loved the deadly competition (gave me The Serpent and the Wings of Night x Caraval vibes – specifically for the competition). And, it turns out, this is a standalone for the couple with potential for another couple in the sequel.

The romance started off well. A human and a phantom? Sure why not? I thought there was good banter and I love a bargain. But then things started to lose me as the story went on. I spent more time in the second half skipping pages than I did reading. And while sometimes I don’t have a problem with that because the plot is next level, this was not the case. There was even one scene that gave me the ick.

I can’t pinpoint quite what was my issue with the plot. I think a lot of it felt…generic? Each character behaved specifically as planned. There weren’t any dynamic qualities to the side characters that added to the plot. I liked Ophelia’s sister, but she was hardly in the book. Mostly, this was unbalanced.

I don’t know that I’ll pick up the next book if the idea around spice over plot is the same.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 5+ open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: elements of horror (gore, torture, blood), loss of life, OCD rep, alcohol use, suicide and depression

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: So True a Love by Joanna Barker

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 341 pages
Author: Joanna Barker
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: September 3rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Danger and passion collide when a plucky young woman becomes embroiled in a Bow Street investigation alongside a handsome officer.

London, 1803

As the daughter of a renowned actress, Verity Travers is a privileged lady of high society —and the last woman one would suspect of working as a private investigator. But after one case nearly costs her everything, she makes the hard decision to hang up her hat and live the uninspiring life of a gentlewoman. However, when she and her dearest friend become victims of a harrowing armed robbery, Verity finds herself swept back into the clandestine world of mystery and crime as she seeks to bring the thief to justice. There’s just one complication: the persistent and dashingly handsome Bow Street Runner Nathaniel Denning, who always seems to cross her path.

Verity is confident she could accomplish her work quickly if only Nathaniel would stay out of her way. While she appreciates his keen mind and quick wit on a case, his interference is muddling her progress—and her heart. Focusing on the task at hand becomes more and more difficult as she constantly bumps into Nathaniel, who is determined to keep her out of danger.

When the two rival investigators learn they are both pursuing the same cunning criminal, they must figure out how to navigate the delicate dance of cooperation amid a backdrop of increasing peril and an irresistible passion that sets their hearts ablaze.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

LOOOOVED IT.

Joanna Barker is just my favorite. I love her books so much and this newest release was a gem too. I love the combination of historical romance + romantic suspense. There is the perfect air of mystery throughout that leaves you guessing and flipping the pages. Add in a lovely swoony romance and this is the ultimate combination.

I loved Verity! I loved how unique and dynamic she was. How clever and filled with a lot of tenacity to do things on her own and learning to let others in and find that trusting piece she had been missing. And of course I was smitten with Nathaniel. He melted me into a puddle and was protective and brave and wanted to be Verity’s partner. Not once trying to overstep. I loved the way the came together and the tender quiet moments they found along the way.

I enjoyed the side story that worked back into the plot (do I spy maybe a future story???). I loved the close friendships and getting to see Jack and Ginny again too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance + Suspense
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: brief gun violence, kidnapping

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 6 (The Unselected Journals #6) by Beth Brower

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 245 pages
Author: Beth Brower
Publisher: Rhysdon Press
Release Date: November 29th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There is bedlam, and there is delightful bedlam.
This afternoon touched on the second, much to my pleasure.

The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.

HOLY CLIFFHANGER.

Illegal cliffhanger alert, GOOD HEAVENS. I love it. I love it so much.

Another delightful read in this series that left me smiling, chuckling and shaking my kindle shouting KISS KISS KISS ALREADY. Because this is who I am as a person.

I love the more I read, the more I fall in love with these characters. The plot is a meandering of life happenings that slowly showcase how Emma is learning and growing. I love the journal style and I can’t wait to have my hands on the next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kiss

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: August 2024

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

I’m just happy football is back. A big list of favorites this month!

Favorites this month:

  • Not Safe for Work
  • Ghostsmith
  • Delicate Escape
  • So True a Love
  • Better Than the Movies (reread)
  • A Heart Sufficient (reread)
  • Nothing Like the Movies
  • A Peculiar Combination
  • Quicksilver
  • Elizabeth of East Hampton
  • The Mist Thief
  • How to Hide in Plain Sight
  • Runaway Bride and Prejudice
  • Apprentice to the Villain
  • Demon Copperhead
  • Once Upon a Boyband
  • The Never Curse
  • [ARC] Drown Me with Dreams (Sing Me to Sleep #1) by Gabi Burton
  • The Fiancé Dilemma (The Long Game #2) by Elena Armas
  • Not Safe for Work (California Love #2) by Lindsey Lanza
  • Hearts That Cut (Threads That Bind #2) by Kika Hatzopoulou
  • [ARC] No Match for Love by Karen Thornell
  • The Mirror of Beasts (Silver in the Bone #2) by Alexandra Bracken
  • Not You Again by Ingrid Pierce
  • Songbird of the Sorrows (Myths of the Empyrieos #1) by Braidee Otto
  • [ALC] Ghostsmith (House of the Dead #2) by Nicki Pau Preto
  • [ARC] Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham
  • [ARC] Delicate Escape (Sparrow Falls #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love (Love’s Academic #1) by India Holton
  • [Novella] Better Than Before (Better Than the Movies #0.5) by Lynn Painter
  • [Reread] Better Than the Movies (Better Than the Movies #1) by Lynn Painter
  • [Novella] Better Than the Prom (Better Than the Movies #1.5) by Lynn Painter
  • [ARC] So True a Love by Joanna Barker
  • [Reread] A Heart Sufficient (The Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir #4) by Nichole Van
  • [ARC] The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig
  • [ARC] Serpent Sea (The Spice Road Trilogy #2) by Maiya Ibrahim
  • [ARC] Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2) by Lynn Painter
  • Black Tide Son (The Winter Sea #2) by H.M. Long
  • Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key #1) by Jen DeLuca
  • A Peculiar Combination (Electra McDonnell #1) by Ashley Weaver
  • Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy #1) by Callie Hart
  • Positively, Penelope (Skymar #1) by Pepper Basham
  • [ARC] A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
  • Elizabeth of East Hampton (For the Love of Austen #2) by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
  • The Mist Thief (The Ever Seas #3) by L.J. Andrews
  • [ARC/ALC] Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan
  • [ARC] How to Hide in Plain Sight by Emma Noyes
  • The Maid and the Crocodile (Raybearer) by Jordan Ifueko
  • The Grandest Game (The Grandest Game #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • [ARC] Runaway Bride and Prejudice (Appies) by Emma St. Clair
  • [ARC] Bring Me Home by Ashley Weston
  • Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner
  • Apprentice to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #2) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
  • Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Wisteria (Belladonna #3) by Adalyn Grace
  • [ARC] Once Upon a Boyband (Midnight Rush #1) by Jenny Proctor
  • The Never Curse (The Otherworlds Series #1.5) by Courtney Millecam

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph